Wall Street Journal columnist and best-selling author Peggy Noonan will give the Cutchins Distinguished Lecture at Virginia Tech on Thursday, March 25, 7:30 p.m., in Burruss Auditorium. (more…)

The Fiddle, Banjo and Dance Club at New River Community College will host a free concert on Saturday, March 13. (more…)

Last week I joined with my West Virginia colleagues Rep. Nick Rahall and Rep. Alan Mollohan in introducing legislation to suspend for two years action by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to regulate greenhouse gas emissions. A companion measure has been introduced in the U.S. Senate by Jay Rockefeller (D-WV). (more…)

Variety is the spice of life! It’s also the key to a powerful network. Business professionals who count on qualified referrals to build their business know the importance of meeting new people—not just any people, the “right” people. I’m not saying that there are “wrong” people; simply that there are people better suited than others to help you. (more…)

~ The following was published in The Floyd Press on March 4, 2010 and on their online site HERE.

Asa Pickford was laid-off and snowed-in when he made the decision to join up with an international disaster relief organization bringing aid to victims of January’s catastrophic earthquake in Haiti. “I was ready to help and I had the skills,” said the Floyd Countian.

Pickford, who is a metal fabricator, pipe welder, and blacksmith, learned about the Ananda Marga Universal Relief Team (AMURT) from his friend Aaron Staengl. Staengl is a member of Ananda Marga, a social and spiritual movement based in India that focuses on personal development through meditation and yoga and emphasizes service to others. For decades AMURT has been assisting underprivileged people all over the world to become more self-sufficient in the basic necessities of life: food and water, education, shelter, and healthcare. “They were already in Haiti before the earthquake,” Pickford said.

In Haiti, Pickford said he will be distributing food and first aid and will be helping to build needed infrastructure. “Mostly I’ll be entertaining kids,” he said, adding that he packed “pennywhistles and goodies to hand-out.” As the father of 5 year old Indigo, Pickford is practiced at interacting with children. “That’s going to be the hardest part. I haven’t been separated from her for more than a few days,” he said about his daughter.

Scheduled to be in Haiti for a month, Pickford said he’s prepared for the physical and emotional challenges that are ahead of him. He’ll be living in a tent in the Boudon neighborhood of Port-au-Prince. “I’ll see the best and worst of life,” he pointed out.

In preparation for Haiti’s warm weather climate and rustic conditions, Pickford had his shoulder length hair cut. “It’s the start of the rainy season. It will be miserable there,” he said. As another perquisite to his journey, he received immunizations for Hepatitis C and A, typhoid, tetanus and malaria. He also received an outpouring of support from family and friends. “Within an hour of posting his intentions to go to Haiti, weeks ago on Facebook, he was getting donations,” his father, Steve Pickford, said.

Steve Pickford explained that many of the items his son packed for the trip were donated or bought locally with discounts. These include power snack bars, sturdy boots, a backpacker’s hammock, tarps, cords, tent stakes, a water purifier, and a waterproof digital camera. The camp items will be left in Haiti when Pickford returns to Floyd. “He’s hoping to set up a sturdy camp that he can leave for another aid worker,” his father said.

On Monday, February 22, Steve Pickford drove his son to the airport in Greensboro, North Carolina, for the first leg of his plane trip, but not before making a stop to say a last goodbye to Indigo in her classroom at The Blue Mountain School.

Armed with a donated electronic netbook and a GPS device for navigating Port-au-Prince roads, Pickford, who speaks fluent Spanish, said he hopes to set up a blog to document his experiences and so that his supporters can follow his progress.

By Wednesday morning, February 24, Pickford was settled in Haiti and had posted a message to his Facebook friends, along with some photos of smiling Haitian children, work sites, scenes of wreckage, and women hand-washing laundry.

“I will be working with some engineers as project manager to install a retaining wall behind the school to keep the hill side from moving any closer,” he wrote about his first job. He thanked everyone for helping to make his trip possible and promised to tell all the wonderful people there about the people in Floyd and beyond who are wishing them well.  ~ Colleen Redman blogs daily at http://looseleafnotes.com

Monday, March 8 marks the 100th anniversary of International Women’s Day, celebrating the strengths and achievements of women. On this day Women for Women International will hold an annual campaign called Join Me on the Bridge, a way of symbolizing unity with women survivors of war in the Congo, Rwanda, Afghanistan, Bosnia, Kosovo, Iraq, Sudan, and Nigeria, and showing that women can build the bridges of peace and development for the future.

Women and men in the New River Valley are invited to gather at the Radford Public Library parking lot from noon to 1 p.m.  on Monday, March 8, to participate in this event and “say no to war and yes to peace and hope.”

To prepare, the Radford University Women’s Studies Club will be decorating a banner from 10 a.m to 2 p.m. Friday, March 5 in the Bonnie. Contact Michele Ren with questions.